This Week In Island History

The news of 10 and 15 years ago is from the Jamestown Press. The news of 100 years ago came from the collection of the Newport Historical Society.

100 years ago

From the Newport Journal, Oct. 11, 1912

Those interested in the Progressive Party formed an organization Friday evening at the Town Hall. The organization will endeavor to secure speakers to address the townspeople each week until the election.

A small force of men is clearing away the debris of the Thorndike as the first step toward rebuilding. Scores of people from Newport and vicinity visited the scene Monday afternoon, but no such crowds came Sunday. The firemen did not have the new coats for which money was appropriated last June and many of the old ones were torn and otherwise ruined making the need for them more urgent.

75 years ago

From the Newport Daily News, Oct. 14, 1937

A store has been opened for Roll Call publicity by Samuel Smith Sons. A chart showing the memberships will be kept up to date. It is hoped to have 20 new memberships. Thus far, Jamestown leads the state in percentage of memberships and population. The chapter is desirous of keeping this record, which will enable it to do more for Jamestown.

50 years ago

From the Newport Daily News, Oct. 16, 1962

The Jamestown Town Council last night unanimously agreed to submit to the people the entire program for the relocation of four public activities into a civic center as rec- ommended by the Rhode Island Development Council. The cost would be in the neighborhood of $60,000, as recommended by the RIDC, which worked with the Jamestown planning board, in preparing a 40-page study of Town Hall and civic center uses.

This step was decided last night in mutual agreement with Victor H. Lampel, planning board chairman. The meeting was called last night to study immediate erection of a town barn to house equipment. An approximate cost of $15,000 was the figure given by Lampel, for a 95-by-50-foot steelframe town barn, including heat. The shell would be $6,400.

25 years ago From the Newport Daily News,

Oct. 14, 1987

The state is taking a more aggressive attitude to change individual attitudes about dumping trash. This will raise the cost of bringing garbage to the state landfill in Johnston. Given the isle’s unique trash disposal system, the town is facing a knotty problem on how to distribute that extra burden. The new plan is necessary because of the new state formula for tipping fees at the state landfill. As of July 1, fees for residential garbage were $10 per ton. Commercial fees, though, increased from $13 to $49 per ton. The state Department of Environmental Management also capped the amount of residential trash each community could dump at the landfill. Jamestown’s limit is 2,006 tons. The problem is that in the 1986-87 fiscal year the isle dumped 3,568 tons of garbage at the Johnston landfill.

15 years ago

From the Jamestown Press,

Oct. 9, 1997

State Department of Environmental Management officials met with town officials last week to discuss implementing a master plan for land use at Fort Wetherill. Both the state and the town approved a plan in 1991. It calls for relocating DEM’s marine fisheries laboratory to the abandoned military buildings on state land at the Wetherill boat basin, and also creating an educational/interpretive center at the site. The town owns a highway barn and 3.5 acres of land adjacent to the state property that was purchased from the federal government for $160,000 in August 1993.

10 years ago

From the Jamestown Press,

Oct. 10, 2002

In debating the language of the proposed new harbor regulations, the Harbor Management Commission at its Oct. 2 special meeting argued over who is and who is not entitled to any future moorings.

Responding to residents’ concerns at a continued hearing Monday, the Town Council threw out the high groundwater table ordinance as originally proposed and directed the Planning Commission to fast track a revised version.